More than any other hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” signals the start of the Advent season. It’s a beautiful piece of music with its haunting tune and lyrics full of longing, anticipation, and hope.
Christians have sung this hymn for centuries. It first appeared in English in the 19th century. However, a metrical form of the hymn was composed in Latin as early as the 12th century. The lyrics go back even further. They’re based on seven Latin plainsong chants dating to the 8th or 9th centuries.
The O Antiphons
The collection of plainsong chants on which the hymn is based is known as the “O Antiphons” or the “Great Antiphons.”1 The O Antiphons are prayers to and about Jesus Christ that originated in medieval European monasteries. Each antiphon has a Latin title expressing a particular facet of Jesus’s identity or mission. Traditionally, worshipers recited these prayers during Vespers (evening) services each year from December 17 through December 23, the seven days leading to Christmas Eve.2
- December 17 – O Sapientia (Wisdom)
- December 18 – O Adonai (Lord)
- December 19 – O Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse)
- December 20 – O Clavis David (Key of David)
- December 21 – O Oriens (Dayspring or Morningstar)
- December 22 – O Rex Gentium (King of the nations)
- December 23 – O Emmanuel (God-with-us)
Monks Just Want to Have Fun?
Medieval monks apparently liked to have fun. Here’s what I mean. The monks who developed the O Antiphons embedded a hidden message in the titles.
Here’s how it works: take the first letter of each title. Then, reverse the sequence. You end up with a Latin acrostic — “ERO CRAS” — meaning something like “I will come tomorrow” or “I will be with you tomorrow.”
Remember, the final antiphon was sung on December 23, the day before official Christmas celebrations began. Malcolm Guite explains the significance:
“In each of these antiphons we have been calling on [Christ] to come to us…Now, standing on the brink of Christmas Eve, looking back [at the message formed by the titles], we would see the answer to our pleas…‘Tomorrow I will come!’ “
The Pattern
Each of the antiphons follows the same pattern:
- Begins with an “O” invocation (hence the name). e.g., “O Wisdom.”
- Calls on Christ using titles and imagery from the Old Testament.
- Elaborates the significance of the title.
- Concludes with the great Advent verb “Come!” (Latin: “Veni!”).
For example, here’s the fifth antiphon, O Oriens:
O Morning Star,
splendor of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death.
Clearly, the ancient author(s) put much thought into the form and arrangement of the prayers. Only a skilled poet with a deep grasp of the central drama of the Bible’s story could achieve such a simple beauty.
So, this Advent season, when you sing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” know that you’re adding your voice to a great choir of Christians who’ve sung these very words for more than a thousand years.
I adapted this material from a talk I gave in 2023. In it, I explore the hymn’s history and walk through the seven antiphons, highlighting the biblical and theological echoes in their lyrics. Listen here or watch the video.
A Prayer Based on Psalm 139:11–12
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
— Psalm 139:11–12Lord God, heavenly Father, I no longer can see your radiant face. The darkness threatens to overwhelm me. I fear it will crush me under its weight. But you see me; you are with me, even in this dark pit. Your presence means darkness cannot have the last word. Preserve me and guard me until I see the light of your countenance once again, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
Read more prayers I’ve written
Talks
- David and Goliath. A sermon on 1 Samuel 17. David’s victory over Goliath points to our true champion, Jesus Christ, who defeated sin, death, and Satan through his life, death, and resurrection.
- Confronting the Green-Eyed Monster. A sermon on 1 Samuel 18. Envy is an ugly, destructive vice. It destroys your ability to enjoy God’s gifts, poisons your relationships, and can erode your faith if left unchecked. But the grace of God in Jesus Christ has the power to free you from envy’s grip.
- God Protects His People. A sermon on 1 Samuel 19. The gospel doesn’t offer us an escape from pain — that’s not what God promises us. What the gospel does provide is help and hope in the midst of trials.
- A Faithful Friend. A sermon on 1 Samuel 20. The gospel answers our loneliness by pointing us to the true faithful friend, Jesus Christ.
- David’s Desperation. A sermon on 1 Samuel 21:1–22:5. David learned important lessons about the life of faith while on the run from Saul. We need to learn those lessons too.
Through My Lens
Art I’m Enjoying
Quote of the Moment
The season of Advent, a season of waiting, is designed to cultivate our awareness of God’s actions — past, present, and future. In Advent we hear the prophecies of the Messiah’s coming as addressed to us — people who wait for the second coming. In Advent we heighten our anticipation for the ultimate fulfillment of all Old Testament promises, when the wolf will lie down with the lamb, death will be swallowed up, and every tear will be wiped away. In this way Advent highlights for us the larger story of God’s redemptive plan
— The Worship Sourcebook
Explore other quotes I’ve collected
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An antiphon is “a brief statement that is sung or said (e.g., after a psalm or canticle). It is often composed of material from the Psalter that is a response of emphasis and also helps to transition to the next reading. When two choirs (or a choir and a cantor) sing alternating verses, they are said to sing antiphonally.” Brett Scott Provance, Pocket Dictionary of Liturgy & Worship, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2009), 19. ↩
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This material on the O Antiphons was adapted from Waiting on the Word: A Poem a Day for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany (Norwich, England: Canterbury Press, 2015), 66–89, by Malcolm Guite. ↩
